It's the Ice Cream Man, um, Person!

Since the beginning of the week, the ice cream truck has been driving down our street between 6:00 and 6:30PM. You already know how I know—the music! Oh, that jingle still brings me joy.

I can still remember what I bought. If it was Mr.Softee, I bought a vanilla soft-serve cone with chocolate sprinkles. But if it was the Good Humor truck, oh boy. I got an ice cream bar, vanilla covered in milk chocolate, with this, big yummy piece of chocolate in the middle. You can’t even find that today, but it was extraordinary.

We were lucky. The Good Humor man came by every day at the same time. And my sister and brother always bought treats for us. As I grew older, I learned it wasn’t just about the money. He was dating my sister! Can you believe that?

He should have been giving me FREE ice cream.

Guest Author: Tina Donahue

Please join me in welcoming author Tina Donahue discussing her new book, Love Me After My Death!

LOVE ME AFTER MY DEATH 

A REELSHORT Original Story 

  • Contemporary Romance Featuring:

  • High Drama

  • Star-Crossed Lovers

  • Revenge

  • Tortured Hero

  • Enemies to Lovers

  • And a Devastating Secret That Threatens These Lovers

There  was  a time when Caroline would’ve done anything for her former sweetheart, Eric Martin.  

That’s why she agreed to marry him.

Six  years  ago,  Caroline faced a dire ultimatum from Eric’s mother. Marry Eric, and Stacy—Eric’s conniving girlfriend—gets the life-saving operation she needs. Out of love, Caroline agreed, hoping that in time, she and Eric would be able to rekindle the spark they once shared.

But that hope was in vain. Since that fateful day, Eric has harbored nothing but brutal resentment for Caroline; the last six years of marriage have been a nightmare.

As  their  marriage  descends deeper into emotional warfare, Caroline receives a shocking, tragic diagnosis of her own.

While  Caroline  quietly  prepares for the end, an all-too-familiar face returns—with a devastating secret to reveal.

With time running out, the question remains: Will Eric finally see Stacy for who she is, or will everything fall apart before Caroline’s last breath? 

 EXCERPT

If I could run away from Stacy without looking like a loser, I would, wanting only to put the past behind me forever.

Slugging her would also be great for all the shit she brought into my life.

Steeled against whatever she intends to dish out, I face her, my emotions hidden behind indifference I’d show an annoying stranger.

I lift my chin and look down my nose at her. “Were you speaking to me?”

She blinks at my cold tone and question, her confidence shaken.

Score one for me.

“Uh… yeah.” Her smile wobbles, confusion in her eyes. “I didn’t expect to see you here so I said hi.” She laughs self-consciously. “Hi. Long time no see, right?”

I frown. “Do I know you?”

Another blink. Her cheeks redden. I suppose with the same embarrassment I felt around her. Eric, too, when they pawed each other or kissed in my presence.

“Yeah, we do know each other.” She clears her throat. “It’s me, Stacy.”

I don’t react.

Frowning, she speaks through her teeth. “Stacy Hill.”

I pretend to think about that then shrug. “No wonder I didn’t recognize you. You’ve changed.”

“What?” Hand to her chest, she titters. “No I haven’t. I’m the same old Stacy. Looking as good as ever.”

“If you say so.”

She wrinkles her nose. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

God, I love yanking her chain. Despite my urge to simply lie down, I put on the act of my life. “Your hair’s thinner than I recall.” I drag my gaze down her then up. “You’ve also gained weight.”

She steps back. “The hell I have.”

“Don’t worry. Six years will do that to some women.”

Pure hatred for me flashes in her eyes. At one time her disdain would have bothered me. At this point, I couldn’t care less. To be honest, I’m waiting for her to leave.

She remains and crosses her arms over her chest… a protective gesture. 

“What are you doing in this hospital?” She taps her foot, waiting for my answer.

I’d cut out my tongue before telling her anything personal. Knowing her, she’d use the information to destroy me. She’s good at turning love into hate. 

“My turn for a question.” I tilt my head to one side. “Why are you back… invading this space?”

Her face pales. I’m not surprised. In the past, I was never direct. Nice worked better for me. No more.

She sizes me up as if she’s uncertain where I’m coming from. Then her gorgeous face grows ugly with her signature venom.

“Surely you can’t be that dense. You know why I’m here.”

I can guess, or be honest and tell her the truth. I prefer to play with her feelings as she did with mine.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Eric, dammit.” Fists clenched, she steps toward me. “I’m here for him. If it wasn’t for you, he and I would already be married.”

I stroke my wedding ring, proof Eric belongs to me… at least in the eyes of the state. She notices the gesture.

“If you say so, Stacy.”

She curls her upper lip. “From what I hear, Eric regrets your marriage.”

“I thought you regretted it.”

Her eyes widen, then narrow. “Pretend all you want with me, I know the truth. Eric loathes you.”

My stomach cramps. Unwilling to give her the upper hand, I fight my sorrow, offering no reaction.

Confusion flares in her eyes, then pure meanness. “Maybe he wouldn’t still hate you after all these years if you hadn’t cheated on him.”

Stunned, I gape then shake from rage. 

“Are you serious? You can’t be.” I get in her space. “I never cheated on him and you damn well know it. I’m not you, Stacy. I’ll never sink as low as you.”

She laughs softly. “Does Eric know that?”

He’s clueless when it comes to her, and she’s fully aware of it.

The gloves were off before, now my claws are out.

“Have you forgotten the part about you cheating on him? I was there, Stacy. I saw what you did. Guess he doesn’t know about that, huh? Did you lie your way out of the problem?” My voice is vicious. “Wonder what he’d say if I let it slip how you whored around on him.”

“Go ahead.” Her smile couldn’t be more smug. “He’ll never believe you over me. I made sure of it.”

I’m not surprised by her comment, but something about it nags me. A matter I’ve forgotten and need to recall… or ask her about.

“How can you be so sure he’ll believe you?”

********

  Praise for Love Me After My Death:

FIVE STARS - AMAZON

"WONDERFUL TEAR JERKER"

This one broke my heart in all the right ways. A great read.

- Carol J.

FIVE STARS - AMAZON

"FANTASTIC"

Read it all in one weekend! Loved entering their world on a deeper level. The ReelShort adaptations are the best.

- Sam

Available on Amazon https://shorturl.at/8sNUy

About Tina:

Tina’s an Amazon and international bestselling novelist who writes passionate romance for every taste – ‘heat with heart’ – for traditional publishers and indie. Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, Romantic Times and numerous online sites have praised her work. She’s won Readers’ Choice Awards, was named a finalist in the EPIC competition, received a Book of the Year award, The Golden Nib Award, awards of merit in the RWA Holt Medallion competitions, and second place in the NEC RWA contests. She’s featured in the Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market. Before penning romances, she worked at a major Hollywood production company in Story Direction.

 

On a less serious note: she’s an admitted and unrepentant chocoholic, brakes for Mexican restaurants, and has been known to moan like Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally while wolfing down tostadas. She’s flown a single-engine airplane (freaking scary), rewired an old house using an ‘electricity for dummies’ book, and is horribly shy despite the hot romances she writes.

MeWe: https://mewe.com/i/tinadonahue

Bluesky: @tinadonauthor.bsky.social

Website/Blog: https://tinadonahuebooks.blogspot.com/

Newsletter: https://tinadonahuebooks.blogspot.com/p/newsletter.html

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tina-donahue

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/146988.Tina_Donahue

Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/tinadonahue

Amazon author page: https://amzn.to/1ChWFkO

Sweet ‘n Sexy Divas: https://sweetnsexydivas.blogspot.com/

Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/user/AuthorTinaDonahue 


It's Typhoon Season

A fierce storm and dangerous wave.

Okay, it’s not really typhoon season. At least not in New England. But it sure feels like it.

In all my life, I’ve never experienced so much turmoil and uncertainty in our federal government—certainly not in the judicial branch. Statewide, things are so hot either. My workplace is also crazy, largely because of the need to respond to the widely tumultuous external environment. Chaos seems to reign from the top of the food chain to the bottom.

Walking against the storm

My home life hasn’t been much better. Two of my televisions—yes, two—spontaneously stopped working at the same time. My refrigerator decided to stop closing tightly and refused to stay cold. In addition, for some unfathomable reason my electric bill states my usage has inexplicably doubled since this time last year. Shall we also talk about the rising costs of everything else?

I’ve been trying to figure out what I can do to restore and maintain a sense of calm in my life and in my stressed out body. One important thing for me to do is to get back to my routines and to do lists. I should not let disruption in the outside world disrupt my peace. I’ve learned that breathing intentionally calms and soothes me. I need to make sure I give myself 5-10 minutes everyday to focus on breathing exercises.

What do you do to help you face the storm outside?

A Comedy of Measurements

In a particularly irritating moment of “you gotta be kidding,” two of our televisions died simultaneously. The one in the kitchen lost sound and had lines through the picture, and the screen on the one in the bedroom went black. We quickly realized that repairing them would not be much cheaper than replacing them (as a sign of the times, I suppose). So, we replaced them with slightly upgraded models of the same size.

The exact size, no logistical issues, right? Wrong! The feet on the one in the bedroom were placed differently than on its predecessor, and consequently, they were beyond the edges of the dresser. We spent the rest of the day and well into the night rearranging furniture until we found a table that fit the TV.

Except the table didn’t fit in the cutout space; it just had to fit. Cue the ridiculousness. Picture two middle-aged, out-of-shape women pulling, lifting, tugging, and rolling around on the floor to fit a big peg into a too-small hole.

The bad news: Neither of us is built for that kind of hard labor. By the time we set up the TV and conquered the beast of our destruction, we were exhausted and broken.

The good news is the TV is lovely. Moreover, we’re giving ourselves the gift of slowly putting the rest of the house together so we can redecorate and rejuvenate our space. All’s well that ends with optimism.

It's Always the First Day of School

Today was the first day of the semester. As an educator, the rhythm is the same as it ever was—the year starts in September, the world takes a break during December and early January, and then things wind up again until May or June.

This half of the year is always worse than the first half in academia. I don’t know why. It just is. You can see it on the student’s faces and in their slow shuffle to classes. I can feel it in my bones as my workload gets heavier in a way that eclipses the Fall semester.

But for now, things aren’t too bad. The parking was ludicrous and the copier didn’t work. The students were awake and more engaged than usual on the first day. My first day stage fright persisted. Thankfully, no one noticed.

Do any of you educators still experience getting nervous on the first day?

Did Your First Kiss Defy Gravity?

I'll never forget my first kiss.

It was Christmas Day and we'd had a great food and scrabble-filled time as usual. My mom's best friend aka my godmother had come and brought her children and a relative's kid, Joseph, who was visiting from Israel. He was older than me by a few years, and had the blondest hair and bluest eyes I'd ever seen. He looked like a model. To me, anyway. (Years later my sister told me he was not as smoking hot as I'd thought.)

At the end of the day, as was our custom, we went to the movies while the adults stayed back, as happy to get rid of us for a few hours as we were to leave. We chose a newly released action movie that year, but the show never mattered.

Joseph flirted with me the entire movie. I had no idea how to filrt back, but my heart raced with his interest. At some point, he leaned over the arm of the seats and kissed my cheek. When I turned to look at him, he touched his lips to mine and then he REALLY kissed me. 

I remember the two of us levitating above our seats, oblivious to the screen and anyone else in the room. We kissed until the movie ended and we floated down to our seats.

He went back to Israel and I never saw him again. We wrote for a little while but as these things do, it faded after a while. But he will always be the star in one of my favorite memories, and the person who taught me how to kiss.

I hope you remember yours as vividly. I'd love to hear all about it. I'll add responses to my next email (Unless you'd rather I didn't add yours.)  

trevann@trevannrogers.com 

Happy 2025. May we all collect new heart-fluttering memories. In a good way, of course.

Waiting For the Son

"You might need to store up a Power reserve. There could be a big battle ahead of you, and you need to be prepared."

Chey turned around and looked into his lover's eyes.

Were-tiger icy blue bleeding into human brown irises.

Zander's tiger wanted to play. Power vibrated beneath Chey's skin.

"Then save me."

Chey and Zander, Waiting for the Son

Do You Believe in Magic

When I was young, my mom's yard was a paradise. It was lined with majestic trees, lush grass, and flowers. You could just see the love she put into those flowers.

The centerpiece of the front yard was a Mimosa Tree. It was stunning. I spent a lot of time with that tree, doing the usual things like sitting under it reading or playing, or working up my courage to climb it to the first big branch. 

I have a secret. I flew under that tree. Yes, I did! You don't have to believe me; it's true. I would grab hold of its thick trunk, and then jump up with all my might! Somehow, my body would stay in the air, perfectly horizontal. I would close my eyes and feel the breeze flow over my body. 

When I let go of the tree, I'd stay in the air for a few precious moments before I thudded to the ground. The fall knocked the wind out of me, but I didn't cry or complain.  I knew magic when I saw it.

I still do. Clouds are magical. Friendship is magic. Love, true and abiding, is magical. Babies, from conception and beyond, are magical. Heck, sometimes chocolate mousse is magical.

We're going to need all the help we can get as time marches forward. Lots of changes ahead, crises as well as opportunities.  We'll need  family and friends so that we can wrap ourselves in community. 

I'm glad I still believe in magic. Do you?

Winter Dreams

For many years I've had a dream of going away for the winter holidays. There'd be snow on the ground and more on the way. I'd sit on a bench with my sweetie, drinking hot chocolate until our fingers grew cold, then we'd head inside to sit by the fireplace reading.

We thought we'd done it one year.  My partner and I traveled to Vermont to stay at the Trapp Family Lodge for a weekend. It was snowy and beautiful. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be. A huge storm was brewing back home, and my dogsitter didn't think she'd be able to be with my puppies. We packed up and left in the middle of the night, just beating the arrival of the storm.

My puppies were safe and sound, but I never had the peaceful, snowy, holiday I've always wanted. I'm still aiming for it. Stay tuned.

Do you have a winter dream? i'd love to hear it?

Do You Believe in Magic?

When I was young, my mom's yard was a paradise. It was lined with majestic trees, lush grass, and flowers. You could just see the love she put into those flowers.

The centerpiece of the front yard was a Mimosa Tree. It was stunning. I spent a lot of time with that tree, doing the usual things like sitting under it reading or playing, or working up my courage to climb it to the first big branch. 

I have a secret. I flew under that tree. Yes, I did! You don't have to believe me; it's true. I would grab hold of its thick trunk, and then jump up with all my might! Somehow, my body would stay in the air, perfectly horizontal. I would close my eyes and feel the breeze flow over my body. 

When I let go of the tree, I'd stay in the air for a few precious moments before I thudded to the ground. The fall knocked the wind out of me, but I didn't cry or complain.  I knew magic when I saw it.

I still do. Clouds are magical. Friendship is magic. Love, true and abiding, is magical. Babies, from conception and beyond, are magical. Heck, sometimes chocolate mousse is magical.

We're going to need all the help we can get as time marches forward. Lots of changes ahead, crises as well as opportunities.  We'll need  family and friends so that we can wrap ourselves in community. 

I'm glad I still believe in magic. Do you?

Have an enchanted weekend.

The Universe and Me

Do you ever wonder about the meaning of life? How it all fits together? I am often compelled to think these things when I see a particularly spectacular cloud. It always occurs to me that this magnificence didn’t get here by accident. There has to be some complex plan that allows for these puffs of water and vapor to hang in the sky. And the patterns…artistic master pieces.

And the sea. It is a body you can’t see the end of. Your eyes just travel over the ripples and waves only to find more ripples and waves, over and over until all you have is that virtuals line that touches the sky. It’s a wonder to me how much I am soothed by the ocean, its sounds and rhythms. And it’s to just water. Have you heard of forest bathing. There are actual studies like this one that show that spending time immersed in the forest benefits us physiologically and psychologically. How cool is it that Mother Nature has rigged parts of the world to just calm us and remind us of our place here.

Sometimes, I just get smacked in the head with the beauty and expanse of nature. I'm but a small pebble in the vastness of the universe. Does that make me inconsequential? Sometimes it feels that way, compared to the forests and the oceans and the clouds. But maybe my glimmer, combined with all of the other precious pebbles, is what makes the universe beautiful.

#currentmood #justthinking #authorlife#truthbetold #urbanfantasyauthorcommunity#urbanfantasyauthor

October Thoughts

Probably a remnant of my childhood, the fall signals a new beginning to me. It’s time for rethinking my plans, choices, and priorities.

I want to focus on taking better care of myself. I’m realizing that I can’t take good care of those I love if I’m depleted, or ill, or exhausted mentally or physically. So I need to do better at three things.

  • Meditation. For me, it’s taking a few minutes to close my eyes and breathe deeply. It’s amazing the positive impact this has on me. Why I don’t do it routinely is a mystery.

  • Eating mindfully. I was doing great at this until a couple of weeks ago. I’m so easily derailed. I’ve got to do better.

  • Exercising. I feel so good when I exercise. Part of it is how proud I am of myself. I want to feel that again.

I start tonight. What about you? What’s your focus for October?